The Connected

Chapter 14

*Gasp* What's this? Is this...an update? Would you look at that, I believe it IS an update.

So, so, so sorry for the wait everyone! I had finals and then work and the writer's block briefly and couldn't find the time to write this story. Thank you so much for being patient, you guys are amazing! Anyways...I finally wrote something, and then wrote some more and now we have an update for all the Owen lovers out there :) Thanks again for your patience and Happy Reading!

*Sang*

My heart hurts.

My boys are gone, all of them. And if I thought the house was quiet before, that was nothing compared to the incredible stillness I feel now.

At least I know they're having fun, even if Ollie acted like he was dying when we sent them off this morning.

Friday evening we met with Dr. Roberts–Phil as he asked me to call him–to talk about getting the boys enrolled in school here. Now, here I am, Monday afternoon, all alone in this great big house while my boys learn and my connections attend to long ignored errands.

I miss them all so much it's stupid.

"Ugh," I groan loudly, irritated with myself, "it's not like they're dead, they'll be back soon and the boys are only at school 'till 3:00. This moping is ridiculous." Mentally smacking myself out of my funk, I stand and stride with purpose towards the laundry rooms in search of cleaning supplies.

"Yes!" I shout in victory when one of the wall compartments slides open to reveal all manner of silver cylinders labeled "cleaning." It's not quite clorox and bleach like I'd been aiming for, but knowing how advanced and innovative everything is in this world, chances are they'll get the job done even better.

For the rest of the morning I throw myself into cleaning everything, having found the menial task to be rather therapeutic many years ago after a particularly brutal beating. I know that Victor said his usual maid would be coming later in the week to spruce up the house for living in, but this is my home now so I'd like to at least do some of the work. He also may have mentioned that she was a water manipulator and could use magic to get it done fast, so I don't feel like I'm cheated by using several of my powers rather than good old fashioned elbow grease to work.

Currently I'm cleaning and unpacking everything for the boys' rooms so they'll be finished by the time they're home from school today. Thus far, I've found hundreds of toys, skateboarding accessories, and books in each of their rooms that I know I didn't buy. Seeing physical proof of how much my connections know and love my boys makes my eyes water, and I wonder for the millionth time how I got this lucky.

I feel a tear fly down my cheek before I snap myself out of it and finish filling Jamie's new bookshelf. No more tears gosh dang it! Get it together, woman, or North will think someone upset you and go into his growly I'm-going-to-kill-someone mode.

When I'm satisfied that I'm no longer in the critical crying zone, I leave the now complete room and set out to explore the dozens of rooms in our massive home that I have yet to see. As I walk the halls, I send small bursts of air at the furniture and the artwork on the walls until I have a small tornado of dust particles circulating behind me quietly. It's my own version of dusting I'd perfected years ago, only now I don't have to worry about anyone walking in and finding out about my magic.

It's freeing to live somewhere that I don't have to hide a part of myself. Even in the apartment I'd worried about the boys finding out, or the neighbors, and although I was no longer living in fear of violence or my foster parents, I was still afraid. Now though, now I don't have to hide, or repress parts of myself just to live day to day, in fact I'm more alive now than I have been my entire life...and it's all because of them.